Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has had an incredible impact in a short time at Ibrox, winning his first three Scottish Premiership matches in the dugout.
The Light Blues had only won one of their first eight matches in the division, under Russell Martin and Stevie Smith, which meant that the German tactician took over the club in a difficult position.
His tactical flexibility has been particularly impressive across his first six matches in the dugout for the Gers, as he has been willing to change systems, formations, and the style of play to suit each game.
For example, he utilised a 3-4-2-1 formation to grind out a 1-0 win away at Hibernian, but then switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation to dominate and thrash Dundee 3-0 in their most recent outing.
On top of improving the results in the short-term, Rohl has also helped some of the players in the squad to show more quality than they did under the previous coaching team.
Youssef Chermiti has been under the microscope since Kevin Thelwell decided to splash £8m to sign the striker from Everton, making him the club’s most expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo for £12m in 2000, but he has shown signs of life under the new boss.
Why Rangers should not give up on Youssef Chermiti
Football Insider recently claimed that pressure was mounting from some fans pushing the club to immediately cash in on the Portugal U21 international when the January transfer window opens for business.
However, the report added that there are no plans in place for the Light Blues to do that, six months on from their £8m deal to sign him, as they hope he can turn his fortunes around at Ibrox.
The 21-year-old centre-forward did not manage a single goal or assist in seven appearances under Martin and Smith before Rohl’s arrival at Ibrox, which is why it is understandable that some supporters have not been pleased with his start to life at the club.
However, Chermiti has delivered one goal and one assist in three league games under the former Sheffield Wednesday head coach, which is more like what supporters should expect from a player signed for £8m.
Minutes
21
77
45
Shots
1
1
1
Goals
1
0
0
Key passes
1
1
1
Assists
0
1
0
Aerial duels won
1/1
2/6
4/5
As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese marksman has been fairly effective with the minutes that he has been given under Rohl, with productivity in front of goal and strength in aerial duels on the whole.
This shows why the Light Blues should not give up on Chermiti, yet, because the 21-year-old talent is still learning and developing as a player, and should be given time under the new manager to prove his worth, given his age and inexperience.
Whilst the former Everton centre-forward has shown signs of life under Rohl and has time on his side to improve as a player, there is another summer signing who has been an even bigger waste of money.
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Rangers have spent a lot of money on attacking signings in recent seasons and Sam Lammers has arguably been one of their worst, as the Dutchman was signed for £3m from Atalanta in 2023 and scored two goals in 31 matches before leaving the following summer.
Now, Bojan Miovski looks to be on course to be the club’s biggest waste of money since the signing of Lammers, because of his struggles this season.
Why Bojan Miovski looks like a waste of money for Rangers
The Light Blues signed the striker from Girona in the summer for a fee worth up to £4.2m, which means that he could cost more than the Dutchman did, and it appeared to be a sensible signing at the time.
Miovski’s form for Aberdeen, as shown in the graphic above, suggested that Rangers were onto a winner with the Macedonia international, as he had proven himself as a goalscorer in the Premiership in the past.
However, the left-footed forward had also just come off the back of scoring four goals in 24 appearances in all competitions for Girona, per Sofascore, which shows that the Light Blues brought in a striker who had been struggling in front of goal last season.
Given the money that was spent on him and his impressive record at Aberdeen in the past, it was fair to expect that Miovski would hit the ground running as an instant impact signing for the Gers, but that has not been the case.
Youssef Chermiti
25/26
£8m
Danilo
23/24
£6m
Bojan Miovski
25/26
£4.2m
Cyriel Dessers
23/24
£4m
Oliver Antman
25/26
£4m
Mohamed Diomande
24/25
£4m
Sam Lammers
23/24
£3m
As you can see in the table above, the Macedonia international is the club’s third-most expensive signing since the summer of 2023, with only Chermiti and Danilo, who has scored two goals in his last three league games, above him.
Miovski has only scored two goals in 15 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants so far, per Sofascore, with one against Hibernian in the League Cup and one against Falkirk in the Premiership.
On top of his lack of goals, the 26-year-old marksman has lost 68% of his ground duels and 70% of his aerial duels across eight appearances in the league for Rangers this season, per Sofascore, which shows that opposition defenders have found it far too easy to get the better of him.
Miovski has no goals and no assists in six appearances under Rohl so far, whilst Chermiti has a goal and an assist and Danilo has scored twice, which shows that he has been the worst-performing striker out of the manager’s three options.
He is five years older than Chermiti, who the club have invested even more money in, which suggests that the Portuguese striker may be preferred as the first-choice option in the mid-to-long-term, because of that investment.
That means that all the pressure is on Miovski to deliver in the short-term and his performances show that he is not doing that, which is why he may be the club’s biggest waste of money since Lammers unless he can turn things around.
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1 ByDan Emery